Land & Sky: Painting with Technique & Precision
About this course
Land and Sky is a four-week intensive designed for painters who want to bring more depth, texture, and light into their landscape work. Guided by Martha Johnson, an artist and educator who is celebrated for her expressive approach to the natural world, this course breaks the landscape down into its two most vital elements: the solid structures of the earth and the fluid mood of the sky. Over four weeks, Martha will guide you through the technical and creative methods needed to paint a variety of terrains, from rolling fields and dense forests to rocky horizons, while exploring how different lighting conditions dramatically change a scene. You’ll experiment with capturing specific times of day, changing weather, and atmospheric depth using smart brushwork, value control, and colour temperature. Through live demonstrations and guided feedback, you’ll build a toolkit for painting nature with both realism and personal expression.
What you'll learn
- Paint Diverse Terrains: Master techniques for rendering different ground structures, from soft meadows to hard, rocky surfaces.
- Capture Shifting Light: Learn how to paint specific times of day (dawn, high noon, dusk) by managing colour temperature and value.
- Build Atmospheric Sky: Practice painting dynamic cloud formations, open horizons, and subtle atmospheric haze.
- Balance Structure and Expression: Combine deliberate brushwork and loose mark-making to create a sense of movement and energy.
- Control Depth and Distance: Use atmospheric perspective to make your skies feel vast and your foregrounds grounded.
- Refine Your Composition: Learn how to use the horizon line and focal points to create a powerful, balanced landscape layout.
They weren't sure either.
Martha Johnson
FAQs
Please find answers to commonly asked questions here. If you're still in doubt, don't hesitate to contact us: contactus@avenueroadartsschool.com
























